eBay pays $46M to journalists it targeted in bizarre harassment campaign
eBay and three former executives agreed to pay nearly $56 million in a settlement over a macabre campaign of cyberstalking and harassment that targeted two journalists in 2019. As we've previously written , the case involved deliveries of live cockroaches, a funeral wreath, a book about surviving the loss of a spouse, and a bloody pig mask to the home of a couple who run a news website. There were also harassing messages sent via email and Twitter, and an attempt to install a GPS tracking device on the victims' car. Criminal charges resulted in guilty pleas and prison terms for former eBay employees. The victims were Ina and David Steiner of Natick, Massachusetts, who run the news website EcommerceBytes. "David and I officially settled the lawsuit we filed in 2021 against eBay and its former executives over the stalking and harassment campaign we endured in 2019 designed to stop our reporting," Ina Steiner wrote on EcommerceBytes yesterday. "The landmark civil rights settlement includes $55.7 million in compensation and charitable commitments." Read full article Comments
eBay and three former executives agreed to pay nearly $56 million in a settlement over a macabre campaign of cyberstalking and harassment that targeted two journalists in 2019.
eBay will pay $46.15 million in compensation to the Steiners, announced Scalli Murphy Law, the Steiners’ law firm. The settlement includes another $2 million in compensation from former eBay CEO Devin Wenig, $500,000 from former eBay Senior Vice President of Global Operations Wendy Jones, and $50,000 from former eBay Chief Communications Officer Steve Wymer.
eBay will give $6 million to various charities, while “Wenig will contribute an additional $1 million to a charity dedicated to protecting First Amendment rights in the name of Ina Steiner,” the announcement said. The law firm said that additional “settlements were reached with all other eBay employees named in the civil action.” eBay reported $3.1 billion in revenue and $512 million in net income in its most recent quarterly report.
